The problem of suffering
Recently, a friend of mine has been very discouraged by the decline in health of her mother, who has MS. She finds the goodness of God difficult to trust as she watches her mother lose her memory, and no longer be able to recognize her own daughter.
I too, struggle to trust the goodness of God in the face of suffering, pain, death, sickness, crime, war, and other consequences of “The Fall” evidenced in the world. I find no escape from the fact that ultimately, God could have created our world in such a way as to guarantee that these kinds of things did not exist in it. But because I have seen and experienced so much of the goodness of God in my life, and because scripture clearly presents God as loving, kind, merciful, gracious, compassionate, and good, I’ve been forced to seek another option for understanding God in the context of my pain.
One scripture that I have spent some time meditating on is Philippians 3:10-11, which says, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
When I first read it, I was all for the part about knowing Christ, and knowing the power of his resurrection, but I just couldn’t understand the parts about the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings and becoming like him in his death. I thought, “What kind of morbid person would write something like that?”
But slowly I’m growing to appreciate a deeper truth about suffering. God places a much higher value on it than I ever would have. It seems to have to do with how I can be formed in a positive way in it, if I can avoid the trap of bitterness. I’ve seen the power of it in my life, and watched the transformation in the lives of others. I find that there’s a special kind of fellowship that’s available to me when I’m suffering, if I draw near to God in it. When I suffer well, transformation occurs at the deepest part of me.
I too, struggle to trust the goodness of God in the face of suffering, pain, death, sickness, crime, war, and other consequences of “The Fall” evidenced in the world. I find no escape from the fact that ultimately, God could have created our world in such a way as to guarantee that these kinds of things did not exist in it. But because I have seen and experienced so much of the goodness of God in my life, and because scripture clearly presents God as loving, kind, merciful, gracious, compassionate, and good, I’ve been forced to seek another option for understanding God in the context of my pain.
One scripture that I have spent some time meditating on is Philippians 3:10-11, which says, “I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
When I first read it, I was all for the part about knowing Christ, and knowing the power of his resurrection, but I just couldn’t understand the parts about the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings and becoming like him in his death. I thought, “What kind of morbid person would write something like that?”
But slowly I’m growing to appreciate a deeper truth about suffering. God places a much higher value on it than I ever would have. It seems to have to do with how I can be formed in a positive way in it, if I can avoid the trap of bitterness. I’ve seen the power of it in my life, and watched the transformation in the lives of others. I find that there’s a special kind of fellowship that’s available to me when I’m suffering, if I draw near to God in it. When I suffer well, transformation occurs at the deepest part of me.
posted by Ted at 1:45 PM
3 Comments:
Good thoughts Ted. Looking at Micah recently, in 4:9-5:4 there are three "stanzas" that begin with "Now" (in the Hebrew). They all refer to painful times (Babylonian Exile, many nations gathered around Jerusalem, and again the Babylonian captivity and blinding of king Zedekiah). My thoughts drifted as I was thinking about these and realized that often we try to avoid pain or numb our pain in some way, when God wants us to push through to the other side - as this is illustrated by each of the stanzas as well - they all end with a word of hope, but you have to go through the pain first. It is nearly impossible to really imagine (for me at least) what this world would be like without "the Fall" but it makes me wonder if God would have allowed us to live pain free even in that case. What do you think? gman
Thanks, Greg.
I personally believe he knew all along we'd fall, and there never was going to be a "perfect" world (as we would define it).
i think of this a lot. especially when working around people who have experienced extreme suffering (usually from other countries, etc). one thing i realised for myself in processing pain is that i am able to prioritise better when my heart is broken. the simplest things become treasures. a smile, an encouragement, dinner with friends. maybe the lord knows what carly simon so eloquently put in her song "...there's more room in a broken heart..." you know what i mean? c.g.
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